Tag Archives: movie

Remember my enthusiasm when I found out my favorite movie was first a book? Well, it finally came in at the library!

Plot: Laura Hunt’s mysterious death has shocked New York. The ambitious young woman has been found dead, shot in the face in her apartment. Lieutenant Detective Mark McPherson has been assigned to the case. As he uncovers more about Laura, he becomes increasingly obsessed with her. Soon he realizes he’s been seduced by a dead woman—or has he?

Thoughts: I love this movie. I could probably quote most of it. There is something about the scene where McPherson, played by Dana Andrews, is staring at the portrait of Laura and falling in love with her even though he thinks she is dead that wins my heart every time.

I set such high expectations on this book that I don’t think it ever could have lived up to them. It was a really good read and yet not quite what I hoped for. It was wonderfully written. I liked the changing viewpoints. I liked the story. The twists are good. Yet, it wasn’t the movie. The pacing felt off. Lines were delivered in different settings and certain, critical scenes from the movie are non-existent in the book.

However, separating the book from the movie…it was a solid read. It was one of the most enjoyable noir reads I’ve found in a long time. The author uses light and darkness, shadows and storms, flowers and foreshadowing, to highlight scenes and create atmosphere. There were many themes laced throughout the story. The romance was somewhat more believable than the movie (oops, not comparing those two anymore) and I thought the balance of the three suitors and what they represented to Laura was interesting. Laura herself is a very complicated character. We get glimpses of her from a few different perspectives and it is interesting to try and figure out what is false and what is real. Womanhood itself gets examined in this story. Is Laura a doll? Dame? Femme fatale? Society woman? Country girl? Are the women around her grasping, slutty, innocent, or confused? This isn’t so much a whodunnit as a examination of human character. I think that is why there is less “shock value” with the final twist at the end. The point isn’t so much “Who killed Laura?” as “Who was Laura?”
I liked the ending. It was somewhat different than the movie.

Overall, I would give the book a solid 4 out of 5 stars. I really enjoyed it and might have loved it if I didn’t know the movie so well.

Today Sara and I went to a fabulous tea shop, visited a cute used book shop (where I didn’t buy a single book!), and saw the movie The Case For Christ. I was pleasantly surprised by the movie. Considering it is based off a non-fiction book, the movie does a good job turning it into an interesting story. It was a perfect movie for Easter.

This afternoon, my beautiful, amazing, and wonderful Mother kidnapped me from work and we went and watched Beauty and the Beast (again.) Still a lovely movie. We were both amazed at how quiet the theater was for a Friday afternoon. There were maybe 20 people in the movie theater with us. It was completely different from when I took my youth group girls on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, the place was packed. We barely found seats together in the third-to-front row. To our left, there was a Mom with a baby. The baby was very well behaved but tended to gurgle and applaud. She got up and returned 4 or 5 times with the kid during the course of the movie. In front of us, there were two grade school girls. Their Mom was sitting behind us. Any even remotely scary scene had them freaking out and near the end one had to come sit by her Mom because she was sobbing so hard.

However, the most memorable part of the theater experience came during the ballroom scene. This is the iconic, Beauty and the Beast moment. Beast looks up and sees Belle in her yellow ballgown, the music starts, and suddenly…someone started booing! The guy booed on and off throughout the entire scene. It was quite an experience. I thought they danced rather well!

So turns out my favorite Korean actor, Lee Min Ho, starred in a Chinese movie this year! And I didn’t know about it! I was flipping through the movie options on my flight (movie options! From Billings to Minnesota!) and I noticed Lee Min Ho’s face. I couldn’t believe he starred in something new and I didn’t know so I watched the whole movie silently going, ‘Is it him? Is it? No….but maybe…’

It was him. So that was a pleasant surprise!

In other news, I am home. I really wish I had one or two more days but I suppose that is how vacation goes. It was a lovely interlude, full of books and tea and schemes for the future. I feel rested. Hopefully this feeling lasts a few days!

I almost forgot to blog tonight! Ahhh! I have a feeling one of these days my streak will be broken by sheer forgetfulness, but tonight will not be that night!

I just finished watching 200 Pound Beauty, a Korean movie from 2006 about an overweight singer who goes through an extreme makeover and gets full body plastic sugery. The movie follows her transition from a woman who sang from the heart to one who cares only about superficial beauty…until she starts to realize what a horrible person she now is. Blah blah blah.

The movie could have been really good. The k drama Birth of a Beauty follows a similar plot line and is amazing. However, all 200 Pound Beauty does is send a confusing message about inward/outward beauty that it then seems to totally disregard. For a comedy, it wasn’t funny. As a romantic plot, the ending disappoints. The main character cries easily every 5 minutes. The main love interest is kind of a perv. There is very little unique or original in the story, and it often goes from cheesy to downright awful.

If the description piqued your interest, take the time and watch Birth of a Beauty. As a movie, 200 Pound Beauty is not worth it.